Poo on eggs.... Do I wash them?

[CheshieChick13]

Ummm.... I have a silkie who now likes to take her two babies into the nest box for shelter. Needless to say, we have had more eggs with a little poo on them.

What do I do? Do I wash them as soon as I bring them in with some magical solution that wont push the bacteria into the shell? Clean it off with a dry towel as soon as I bring it in? Wash it just before consumption? Leave it alone all together?
My neighbors like them and sometimes even buy them. I really don't want to give away poo eggs.....

Thanks in advance for any help...
~Steph

 

[Lesa]

This is an ongoing discussion on here! Certainly, I would not sell an egg that wasn't clean. If you can wipe it off- do so. I usually scrub mine with a damp paper towel, if they have poop on them. You don't want to go too crazy, because you will remove the bloom from the egg, and they won't stay fresh as long...

 

[teach1rusl]

I simply wipe the soiled area off with a damp sponge...

 

[AinaWGSD]

Unless the egg is pretty much completely free from nest box cling-ons (hay and dirt and the like) I wipe most of my eggs with a dry paper towel. If there's some dirt or poo that doesn't come off with a dry paper towel I dampen it with lukewarm tap water (if I'm patient enough to wait for it to warm up that is) and wipe the egg with a damp towel. That's what I do anyway. Whether that's the best way to do it or not I don't know, but it works for me.

 

[Jajika]

I wash the egg with a special damp sponge
I reserve for such occassions.

This is not a big issue for me, so I don't really find it a problem.

 

[JennH07]

I had a neighbor who had chicks tell me to wash them under cool running water and usee a tooth brush on them. Is this wrong??

 

[3goodeggs]

I guess I am gross.
I segregate my eggs. The clean ones get put in the 'sell' cartons, the semi dirty ones get cleaned with a damp paper towel and put into the refrigerator. (The thing about the refrigerating is that when they get sold, they will get condensate on them during the trip out of the refrigerator and then sit in water. that makes me nervous about selling them. so those are ours)

The nasty ones sit as is on the counter in a basket until I use them. Then I scrub them well before cracking them.
The ones that can't be set on the counter without stinking up the house... dog food.

I grew up in a barn though, so I might not have the best advice.

 

[chrissum]

Quote:
This from University of Nenraska:
http://elkhorn.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=798

 

[JennH07]

Chrissum,

Thank you!!!! Did not realize how wrong I was, and am glad to be corrected. Thanks again.

 

[BUMPKIN]

Sorry, I'm one the nut cases who washes with a small amount of anti-bacterial dish washing liquid in lukewarm water. Just can't make myself leave that on my eggs.

So far with no problems, may be just dumb luck but I just have to do it. Guess I am compulsive-obsessive.

Marilyn